Falling Stars
by mangobunnies
Summary: I stare up at the dark figure before me, who I thought I would never see again, completely speechless. As he speaks, it's all I can do to not melt to the ground. "Did you miss me, Girl on Fire?" POST-74TH HUNGER GAMES [Catoniss; Rated T for mild violence and swearing.]


**A/N: Hiya there, I'm starting a new story, and I just came up with this a few days ago. I had to get it down, so here it is (I deleted my other story because i lost insperation and it _was_ pretty weird. i had no clue where i was going with that. but now i have an official plan laid out for this)! sometime later on, i may ask for help, so a few suggestions and/or reviews would be helpful! thanks!**

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KATNISS POV

"No. They already have everything. Why should they have a victor?"

He nods, and pulls the berries from his pocket. I get out mine, and we take one of our last deep breaths.

"On three?" He asks quietly.

"One," I look into his innocent, blue, baker-boy eyes, trying to keep them forever in my memory.

"Two," He strokes my braid, which is disheveled from our fight with Cato. I blink back tears, and take my final breath.

"Three."

Our hands rise to our mouths with the berries, and then it's too late- they enter our mouths, and their skin is being broken by our teeth, the final food that will ever enter our stomachs.

They are sweet in my mouth, and in a way, it's pleasant. '_Sure, Katniss, dying willingly is pleasant'._ As I swallow them, I notice they are strangely familiar. But it's a good way to end my life: sugary berries that will kill me.

"Is it just me, or does nightlock actually taste pretty good?"

"Katniss, what are you talking about?" Peeta looks at me funny. I can already see the life leaving his eyes.

"You don't like the taste of..." my voice trails off and I glance down at the pile of berries in my hand, then in Peeta's. The inside of his berries was a dark red. Mine were transparent…

_Like blueberries._

"Katniss… I'm not sure if that was nightlock," Peeta whispers in a hoarse voice.

"PEETA!" I scream his name at the realization of it all. _He ate the nightlock. I just had blueberries._

Peeta falls to the ground, and I cradle him as I cradled Rue.

"No. No, no, no, y-y-you can't die. P-Peeta, you're not d-dead," I stammer, my voice rising hysterically.

"Yet," he whispers. His breath has become slower, and his face paler.

"No. You're gonna be f-f-fine!" I yell louder. _No, Peeta. You're gonna live, and we'll make it out of this arena together, like they promised we could._

"Katniss, I love you more than anything or anyone in the world, and I have for as long as I can remember. But please, just do me one last favor, and let go of me. I don't want to keep you petrified for the rest of your life. You deserve better," he barely speaks now, and his skin is cold.

"PEETA! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ME!" I wail, and begin to sob uncontrollably.

"Katniss…" he reaches out to brush my cheek, and then his arm goes limp.

I fling myself over Peeta's torso protectively just when I hear his cannon go off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the Victor of the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen!"

CATO POV

Oh God, what is this? My head hurts like hell, I can't move, and I have no control over _anything. _And I don't even know where I am. I can't see anything, either, and it feels like I'm just lying on a cold piece of metal.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabs me at my hip and I jolt upright, blinded by the light of…

Wait; am I in a hospital room?

"Morning, princess. Hope you're happy, because I wasn't the one who made the decision to bring you back. The president wants to see you, after you're done your recovery meal," a doctor says.

"What the hell is that?" I blurt out.

"It's a meal specially designed for people with a concussion. It helps you think clearer and temporarily relieve the headaches. If you eat just this one meal for one month, then you should be back to normal," another nurse informs me.

"Well don't just stand there, feed me," I snap at them, and they hurry off to get my food ready.

Shortly after, they hurry in with a green tray with a plate of some kind of yellow mush on it and a tall glass of green-tinted water.

"After every bite, take a small sip of this. You may not like this, but its banana and yam puree. It's the only concoction that works with the antibiotic you're being given. Eat up," the doctor leaves the tray on my lap and leaves.

"Wait, wh-"before I finish, they're gone from the room.

"Shit," I mumble. I force down as much of the "food" as I can, and sip the strange-tasting green liquid. Right when I take the final bite, the doctors rush in and connect me to a pole with the needles in my arm. They lead me to the elevators where we ascend from what I assume is the basement, into a large, emerald-colored-carpeted corridor with five giant chandeliers hanging over. There are ceiling-height doors at the other end, which seem like doors to a room important enough for President Snow to park his ass in all day.

"Here, I'll get it," the doctor reaches to open the door for me, but I slap his hand away and snarl,

"I don't need help opening a door."

I yank it open to reveal a large window with a desk in front of it. President Snow sits in the chair behind the desk, and grins at me with his snake-like smile.

"Hello, Cato. I'm very glad you could join me. Please, sit."

"You wanted to see me?" I ask, pulling a chair from against the wall to sit.

"Yes, yes I did. We have something very important to discuss. Something that only your ears can hear, and your ears alone," he lowers his voice, even though there is no one else in the room. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Sorry, I haven't the slightest idea-"I begin but he cuts me off.

"Cato, you were dead. An arrow buried itself in your skull-"

"That of which belonged to?"

"Katniss Everdeen. She won the Hunger Games," he finishes.

"And what about Lover Boy, or whatever his name is?"

"Peeta Mellark is dead. Katniss thought she was eating nightlock with him, but it was blueberries-"

"May I please watch that scene again later? It's something that would be of entertainment to me," I say giddily. _I knew they were always that stupid._

"Cato, please try to focus. You lost the Hunger Games, the girl whom you hate down to the bone came out of the arena alive, and I'm trying to give you a chance to take revenge. Is that not what you want?"

A surge of anger and frustration goes through me at this, because I did want revenge. I just hated the reality of it all rushing on me so fast, when I had just risen from the dead.

"Yes. I am truly sorry for interrupting you. Please, President Snow, continue," I apologize, trying to be polite.

"Thank you. The reason why I brought you back is because Ms. Everdeen has started uprisings. You did not see what she did when that little girl- oh, what was her name… Rue- when she died. She gave the districts hope. And your job is to contain it. For now," he explains patiently to me.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" I ask.

"The next time you will see each other shall be at the Victor's Banquet. You may not physically harm anyone, especially her. But I want you to try and unnerve her. Shift her gears; belittle her, anything to take away her courage. You made her life hell in the arena. Now do it well," he finishes solidly. I nod and smirk at him. "You are dismissed."

I get up from my chair and keep my fists balled up. Just as I'm about to walk through the door, President Snow calls my name.

"Oh, and Cato?" I turn around, and he says,

"Remember who the real enemy is."

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**Thanks for reading! Reviews would be appreciated! :)**


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